


sorry miss, condition's critical

by mauvechilli



Category: Blue Lock (Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic Attacks, Pining, aryu uses they/them pronouns, beauxbatons aryu, durmstrang tokimitsu, kunigiri if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:42:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mauvechilli/pseuds/mauvechilli
Summary: Tokimitsu's biggest worries at the moment:1) Getting through the Triwizard Tournament. They said they had made it safer, but Tokimitsu knew the number of casualties there had been in previous years.2) Raichi killing him in his sleep. But that was nothing new.3) The pretty Beauxbatons Champion he was meant to be up against.Yeah, he was suffering.
Relationships: Aryu Jyubei/Tokimitsu Aoshi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	sorry miss, condition's critical

Aoshi shouldn’t have been the champion.

Someone was kicking up a fuss behind him as he walked forwards, but he could barely pay attention. All he could focus on was putting one foot in front of the other. His senses were dulled, muffled in cotton wool. Just breathe, walk through the crowd of Durmstrang students, and everything would be alright. Maybe. He thought it was Raichi behind him, cussing him out.

Someone else was walking up. A Hogwarts student, in a robe emblazoned in green and silver. A Slytherin champion? It took a moment of trying to concentrate on the whispers and piecing them together to realise who this was. Itoshi Rin, the brother of a well-known Quidditch player, famous for being one of the top players on the scene at a young age. Itoshi silenced the whispers with a cold glare.

The anxiety was creeping in quickly now. Itoshi had turned to him, sizing him up in moments before turning to face forward, like he wasn’t worth the effort. Aoshi really wasn’t though, who was he kidding?

“Finally, the Champion from Beauxbatons!”

He forced himself to focus as a slip of paper flew out the goblet in an eruption of flames, and fluttered towards the headmaster.

“Aryu Jyubei!”

What an old fashioned name, Aoshi thought. He was already building assumptions, as everyone does, when he saw them stepping out from the parted crowd of students.

Aryu broke every single one of those expectations he had. They were gorgeous, garnering attention from the crowds of boys and girls alike. Their glossy black hair sprawled out behind them, swaying with each step and it left Aoshi enchanted. Surely, someone of that beauty had to be part Veela.

It took a moment for Aoshi to notice that Aryu was approaching him, smiling as they offered a hand. “I look forward to going up against you in the tournament. Tokimitsu, was it?”

Aoshi took their hand, nodding. “Yes, uhm, that’s me. I look forward to it as well, Aryu.” He attempted a little smile in response, and it was at this point that he became acutely aware of sweat pooling and practically dripping from his hand. Aryu must have been a saint not to have mentioned it as they walked over to Itoshi and greeted him as well, noticeably offering their other hand.

Or maybe it was just a facade. A ploy to put his guard down by pretending to be nice. It had to be. Someone like Aryu being nice to him—to Aoshi of all people—was impossible.

And yet, he still felt himself falling for it.

What a fool he was.

  
•  
  


He didn’t get much sleep the night before the First Trial. Most of it was just him grasping at straws, trying to figure out some sort of plan.

Aryu had pulled him aside after dinner that night. They stood in a corridor, and Aoshi watched as they leant against a window to gaze at the courtyard. They seemed like they were debating something, and every second of silence was boosting his anxiety tenfold.

“It’s dragons,” Aryu finally said. They met Aoshi’s gaze, and he found himself letting out a sigh of relief. Aoshi wasn’t hoping for anything more. What do you mean? He hadn’t imagined an impossible scenario of a confession—like he would ever get some sort of happy ending with someone like Aryu.

“Madame Teieri told me about it. She told me that Itoshi already knows, so I thought I should level the playing field.”  
  


That was unexpectedly thoughtful of them. He had a nagging thought that it was a lie, that Aryu was telling him this to throw him off the scent, but Aoshi took the risk and gave them thanks. Aryu smiled in response and struck a pose before leaving, returning to wherever the Beauxbatons school was staying. Aoshi sighed, and went back to the Durmstrang ship.

He shouldn’t trust Aryu. Aoshi knew that kindness and beauty hid lies, but they had seemed so genuine. _Well trained,_ his mind supplied. Realistically, there was no reason for Aryu to be so helpful to another competitor. And there was no reason for Aoshi to believe them.

But it was all he had to go off. Either way, he planned for dragons, coming up with a spell he could practically use in any situation they dealt him.

His dreams were plagued by that scenario he imagined in that corridor. With Aryu smiling so warmly at him, and their hand cupping Aoshi’s cheek as they brought his face closer. As soon as he let himself relax into the touch, he heard laughter, and turned to see people at the end of the corridor. Aryu was laughing with the growing crowd, mocking him as he tried making sense of the situation. It was a joke, all a great big fucking joke that got played on him.

They were beautiful. Too beautiful to be even standing next to a gorilla like him, he thought as Professor Ego announced the First Trial.

It had been dragons, and something like relief washed over Aoshi. His trust wasn’t misplaced, but even so…

The goal was to retrieve a golden egg, slipped inside a nesting mother’s clutch. No harm should come to the real eggs or themselves, which would dock points. Somehow it felt wrong to Aoshi, but he shook the thought from his mind and reached into the bag to get a dragon figurine.

It was a Swedish Short-Snout, with a number three hung around his neck. So he’d be going third.

Itoshi was first, against a Chinese Fireball.

He used a Summoning Charm to get his broomstick—Aoshi’s eyes widened at the model—and darted into the dragon nest. He was in and out in five minutes, without a scratch.

“That was an interesting solution. Quite a fast broom too. I wonder what the model is. A Nimbus 2000?” Aoshi’s ears practically pricked up upon hearing Aryu’s mulling and he did his best not to vibrate from excitement.

“It’s a Nimbus 2001! It’s the fastest broom in the world at the moment, far surpassing every other model out at the moment. But it requires a fair bit of skill to wield. It’s an incredible broom, I think. Like a testament to what brooms are capable of.” They raised their eyebrows as they turned to Aoshi, but the surprise faded into a smile.

“It’s rather stylish. I didn’t expect you to know so much, it’s amazing.”

Aoshi was left reeling as Aryu was called up. They thought it was amazing…?

Aryu was up against a Hungarian Horntail. When they came across it, they managed to gracefully enchant it to sleep so that they could swoop in to grab their egg. They were quick, and other than getting their leg scorched by a flame let out with a snore, it went perfectly.

He wasn’t ready to screw up. It was inevitable, considering those two had done so well, and his plan had to have a hole in _somewhere._

Aoshi stepped through to the arena and took a breath. He would be fine. Going against a dragon couldn’t… It couldn’t be that bad. Right?

The Conjunctivitis Curse blinded the Short-Snout easily, and he did his best to sprint through its legs straight to the nest. He was lucky it didn’t have a great sense of smell, he supposed. He grabbed his egg, dodged it as it swiped his leg and ran. He heard an announcer dock points for broken eggs but he had it. He did it. He probably failed for that, but…

Aryu was the one to come third. How? Their enchantment was perfect; they hadn’t done a single thing wrong other than had had their trouser leg set alight. Aoshi had caused the Swedish Short-Snout to lose a third of its clutch in its confusion. He bit his tongue, seeing Aryu shake it off with a pose to ‘erase this negativity’.

“That was a stylish win. I’ll have to work hard in the next two trials to beat you both.” Their words were followed by a hair toss, and Aoshi sighed.

“Well, I… It’s not like I really, uh, deserved it. You pulled off such a powerful enchantment with skill, and—”

“It’s too bad. That’s just how it was judged. I’ll prove my worth next time.”

Aoshi was left to consider their words, and the strength of his own resolve.

  
•  
  


Aoshi had a favour to repay.

He did his best running through the school corridors, hoping to find them soon so they had more time to prepare. After all, this trial seemed to put some emphasis on the preparation, considering they had a few months with little to do than figure out the egg.

The halls were crowded, with people talking about what they were going to wear, who they wanted to take to the Yule Ball. Aoshi didn’t want to think about it right now.

He brushed shoulders with someone a little more forcefully than he meant to. Luckily, they were able to steady themselves. Aoshi immediately turned to apologise.

“Ah, I’m sorry! I didn’t, uh, mean to—Aryu!” He smiled, and Aryu quirked an eyebrow.

“Why are you wet? You’re soaked, Tokimitsu. You’ll catch a cold.” God, they were right. Aoshi came straight from the lake, and they probably didn’t want to be seen around someone like him.

“I need to, uhm, tell you something. It’s important.”

There was a redhead at Aryu’s side, in Gryffindor robes, who looked up at him, then at Aryu. “Guess that means I’m free to go.”

“We’ll continue this later, Chigiri.”

Aoshi stared after him as he left, and watched as another boy with spiky hair threw an arm over his shoulder. That redhead was pretty. He matched with Aryu’s look, better than he could. Someone as pretty—almost as pretty—as themselves deserved to be at their side. Not him. Not a bumbling gorilla that fell in the lake, worried that he had broken his egg, only to see that it had opened and someone was singing. The egg had been singing in the voice of the merfolk.

“Tokimitsu? Were you going to ask me something?”

He snapped back to focus. Aryu was twirling a lock of hair around their finger, gazing across at him. Aoshi could swear that he heard expectation in their voice, that there was the faintest red on their ears, but he ignored it.

“Ask? No, uh, it’s about the Second Trial.” They visibly deflated at that, but Aoshi couldn’t put his finger on why. “I figured out what you do with the egg, and I wanted to pay you back for telling me about the dragons.”

“They just screech, don’t they? I was wondering if it had something to do with a mandrake…” They rested their head in their palm, thinking, before turning their full attention to Aoshi again. “So, what is it?”

“Open it under water.”

Aryu blinked, before laughing. “That explains why you’re drenched.”

Aoshi’s cheeks burnt. Seeing them laugh was a sight to behold, but Aryu was laughing at him. It didn’t matter. He’d be the butt of any joke if it meant Aoshi could listen to that laugh. “You should go and change before you get sick. Thank you for letting me know.”

“It’s, uh, nothing! I’m just, uh, glad I could repay you.” He tried to smile, and turned tail and left.

He would get ruined by that smile if he wasn’t careful.

Aoshi never was though. He’d lose countless times before he learnt his lesson.

  
•  
  


The Yule Ball was fast approaching.

Aoshi hated parties, and for once was grateful for his unpopularity. No one would notice if he left, but there was an unspoken obligation for students to show up. He wanted to at least show his face, and prove to Barou that yes, he could handle being at the Yule Ball without dying.

The easiest part of this was probably the dance lessons. The headmaster of Durmstrang had escaped the responsibility of teaching ballroom dancing, so the students were put with the Beauxbatons to learn.

Thank god for his leg. He had sprained it when he fell in the lake and considering the Hospital Wing was full of Quidditch injuries after a particularly rough match, he had been essentially told to ’just deal with it himself’. But that was fine! Aoshi understood, and hey, anything that kept him from being the laughing stock of Durmstrang. He could watch the failures of his classmates trip over their own feet and tumble to the floor, and pretend he couldn’t see Aryu twirling around their partners with grace.

When it was finally over, Aoshi watched as Aryu’s dance partner pulled them aside, blushing and looking away. She must have been asking them to the Yule Ball, and who wouldn’t? They were a perfect candidate. Were they going to accept?

Their body language shifted as they spoke, and Aoshi watched with bated breath. The girl listened and sighed, her mood dropping as she nodded. Aryu had rejected her. If someone like that couldn’t win, Aoshi had no chance. He should stop kidding himself.

He saw Aryu had clocked his staring, and was beginning to walk over. Aoshi struggled to his feet, and did a quick rundown of the possible excuses he could use. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m great. Definitely. Just hurt my leg the other day.” He felt sweat beading on his forehead, and Aryu didn’t even hide their incredulity.

“Are you sure? You can’t practice, so at the Yule Ball—”

“It’ll be fine, don’t worry. I, just, uh. I’m not going with anyone, so I’m fine.” God, he hated to even think about it. No doubt that Aryu was going with the redhead, and refusing everyone because they already had a date. Why, then, did Aryu suddenly look hopeful? Aoshi couldn’t deal with it. He needed an excuse, something to get out of here fast.

“Well, in that case—”

“I have detention, so I can’t really stay and chat. Sorry, bye!”

“Oh, okay. See you?” He was already halfway down the corridor, and just feeling terrible.

Incredible, Aoshi. Truly incredible.

That was the most obvious lie he could have told. He knew it had shown on his face. Aryu was trying to tell him something, probably asking if he wanted to third wheel with them and Chigiri, and Aoshi had interrupted him. Twice. Amazing play, truly.

At least now he couldn’t get his hopes up anymore. He knew it was done for.

  
•  
  


It was too loud.

It was too loud, and it was too cramped, and people were bumping into Aoshi in the crowd. He was holding steady, but the entire event was an attack on his senses.

His tight shirt and jacket didn’t help his inability to properly breathe. He needed to get out. He showed his face, that was enough, right? Where was the exit? Somewhere that wasn’t being flooded with people, somewhere he could wait to take a breather before returning to his room.

Aryu was with the redhead. Chigiri? They were laughing, drinking punch as they joked amongst themselves. They were wearing a sleek black tailcoat, and Aoshi’s cheeks heated despite it all. What an idiot.

Aryu looked up.

Aoshi’s heart stopped in his chest as they locked eyes. Not a gorilla like him. They would never be with such an ugly gorilla like him—they looked beautiful, so beautiful compared to Aoshi, how could he even think a gorilla like him had a chance?

He needed to escape. Where was the door? He caught sight of it, and began making his way over.

Aoshi didn’t mean to bump into Raichi. He spilt punch on his shirt, and turned around to give Aoshi the coldest glare before blowing up and shouting. It was the final push he needed to go into a full blown panic attack.

He couldn’t focus on the words that were being screamed at him. Just hearing the noise and being unable to process the curses and insults thrown at him was probably for the best. He tried to tear his eyes from Raichi’s even as his vision blurred, but there were people around him looking and everyone was staring at him and it was all just _too much_ —

Aoshi felt a hand grasp his arm. Someone shoehorned their way in front of him, a red shape arguing back and for some reason standing up for him. The hand guided him away, gently pulling so he had no choice but to follow. He was taken through corridors quickly, and eventually they got to the courtyard. The person sat him down on the steps, and put a glass of punch in his hands.

“The sugar will help,” the voice murmured softly, and Aoshi sipped it with gratitude. The person sat next to him, and as his anxiety soothed he turned to see who it was.

“Aryu?”

They smiled at Aoshi, though with worry evident in their eyes. “Are you feeling alright? That guy was awful. Chigiri said that he would deal with them so I could focus on getting you out of the situation.”

He shifted uncomfortably, cradling the cup of punch in his hands. “He’s not a nice guy. I remember Raichi got angry after I got selected for the Triwizard Tournament.” Aoshi sighed, and looked over at Aryu. “You should probably go back. I feel a lot better, and I’m probably going to go back to my room. Besides, you came with Chigiri, didn’t you?”

“He knows I’m with you now. Besides, I was just third wheeling for him and Kunigami. And… You know, I wanted to come with you.” Their ears were red. Aoshi felt his heart thumping a heavy rhythm in his chest.

Oh.

He screwed up.

Aryu laughed. “It’s alright, though. You don’t have to say anything. I know you were uncomfortable and didn’t want to be around me, but I still—”

“Wait. I’m sorry.” Aoshi breathed, and reached his hand to hold Aryu’s. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I just… I don’t measure up to you or Itoshi as champions, or as people, really, and I…” He bit his lip. “I thought you were with Chigiri. I thought he fitted better with you, and I… I’m just a gorilla compared to you. I really shouldn’t delude myself—”

“Aoshi. You are stylish.”

The blush reached their cheeks now, and despite it Aryu lifted his hand to cradle Aoshi’s face. There was a moment of silence, as Aoshi thought back to his nightmare. It was different now. Aoshi knew he could trust Aryu. He leant into their touch, and felt his heart clench at their gentle smile.

“Aryu, I—”

“You can call me Jyubei, you know.”

  
“Jyubei… I can’t go back. I can’t even dance. I…” He looked away. “I’ll just ruin the ball for you.

Jyubei tilted their head, then stood, putting down the punch glass and offering Aoshi a hand. “Why don’t we change that?”

Aoshi wasn’t sure how the next two trials would pan out, if he could beat Itoshi, if he even had a chance. What would the next two challenges even be? That didn’t matter right now.

Right now, he was content to take Jyubei’s hand, with the noise of the Yule Ball that had overwhelmed him now little more than an afterthought in the courtyard. Aoshi was happy to look into Jyubei’s eyes, learning to dance in the light of the moon.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed reading this! this is my first fic in the fandom so i hope it's not too bad  
> yell at me on twitter [ @miwasdyke ](https://twitter.com/miwasdyke)


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